Duran was born
George Kevork Guldalian in
Caracas,
Venezuela, to parents of
Armenian descent originating from
Lebanon. They later immigrated to the United States where they became naturalized Americans. Duran attended
New York University, majoring in Communications Studies. It was there where he began to pursue his interests of television and radio production. Hosting the
HYE Time radio show on
WNYU, he won an award for Best Radio Talk Show at the
National Association of College Broadcasters in 1996. Duran continued in radio, working as an on-air personality for comedy segments at
WPLJ in New York. He moved on to
WABC radio in 1999 where he produced and performed more comedy sketches. In 2000, Duran moved into television, working in production on the
MTV show
House of Style. From there he moved to the Latin music television station
HTV in Miami. In 2002 he moved to
Paris and pursue his other interest – food. Duran attended culinary school at the
École Supérieure de Cuisine Française (ESCF) - Ferrandi (
English:
Higher School of French Cuisine, Ferrandi Group). While there, he hosted the television show
Pop Cuisine on French culinary network
Cuisine TV, which was nominated for a
7 d’Or (French Emmy) award for Best Cable Show, and the winner of a 2003 Silver Grape Gastronomic Award. He also wrote culinary pieces for the French edition of
FHM magazine. In 2006, Duran hosted the cooking show
Ham on the Street on the
Food Network. He also took over hosting duties from Jim O'Connor for the Food Network show
The Secret Life Of.... Duran published his first cookbook,
Take This Dish and Twist It, in the fall of 2008. In 2010, Duran was the host of television show
Chocolate Wars featured on the
TLC Channel. Duran's culinary interests lie in
French,
Armenian, and
South American cuisines. He is fluent in English, Spanish, French, and Armenian. He currently resides in
New York. ==Promotions==